How to use Google Translate in SDL Trados Studio 2021

SDL has released SDL Trados Studio 2021 (hereinafter referred to as "Trados"). While many features have been added, Google Translate (Google Cloud Translation API) has been removed from the standard features starting from this version. This blog post explains how you can still use Google's machine translation engine in conjunction with SDL Trados Studio 2021.

Table of Contents

1. Installing the MT Enhanced Plugin Extension for Trados

2. Introducing MTrans for Trados by Human Science

1. Installing the MT Enhanced Plugin Extension for Trados

Trados has a mechanism for extending its functionality through add-ins, and the SDL AppStore for searching and downloading extensions is built into Trados.

To use Google Translate, you need to set up the Google Cloud Translation API and then install the MT Enhanced Plugin for Trados Studio extension in Trados.

How to Set Up the Google Cloud Translation API

1. Access the following page from your web browser to create a Google account.

https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/27441?hl=en

2. Access the following page.

https://console.developers.google.com/cloud-resource-manager

3. Click the menu button in the top left > "APIs & Services" > "Credentials".

4. Click "Create credentials" > "API key" at the top.

5. A message confirming the creation of an API key and the API key itself is displayed. This API key will be used when setting up Trados, so make sure to copy it.

6. To register payment information, click the menu button > "Billing."

7. Click 'Add billing account' and enter the payment information as instructed on the screen. Credit card information is required (charged on a per-character basis).

8. The Google Cloud Translation API setup is now complete.

How to Configure Trados

1. Click "Add-Ins" > "SDL AppStore" at the top of Trados. The AppStore is displayed.

2. Click "AppStore" and then enter "Enhanced" in the search bar.

3. Click "MT Enhanced Plugin for Trados Studio" (without BETA) from the list.

4. Click the "Install" button in the bottom right to install it in Trados. You must be logged in to SDL to proceed.

5. To enable the MT Enhanced Trados Plugin, exit Trados and restart it.

6. Open the project settings, and in the left tree, click "Language Pairs" > "All Language Pairs" > "Translation Memory and Automated Translation."

7. Click "Use" > "MT Enhanced Trados Plugin" at the top. The settings screen for the MT Enhanced Trados Plugin is displayed.

8. Select "Google Translate" from the "Choose MT provider" section.

9. Enter the API key obtained from the "How to Set Up the Google Cloud Translation API" section above into the "Google Translate API key" field. (Press Windows key + V to view the clipboard history.)

10. Click "OK" to complete the settings.

Tech Support for the MT Enhanced Trados Plugin

The MT Enhanced Trados Plugin is a community-developed plugin, so SDL does not provide official tech support. If you need support, you must post in English on the forum provided by SDL.

2. Introducing MTrans for Trados by Human Science

What is MTrans for Trados?

MTrans for Trados is a machine translation solution developed by Human Science for corporate clients. By simply installing the plugin, you can utilize machine translation services from Google, DeepL, and Microsoft. You do not need to enter a contract with each company individually. Additionally, it is equipped with features necessary for commercial translation, including the automatic application of terminology and style rules, significantly reducing the amount of post-editing work. You can also take advantage of a flat-rate invoice payment option, which is highly requested by our corporate clients.

For more details, please visit https://www.science.co.jp/nmt/service/nmt.html.

Translation Differences between the
MT Enhanced Trados Plugin and MTrans for Trados

Here, let us compare the Google machine translations produced by the MT Enhanced Trados Plugin and by MTrans for Trados. As a sample project, we will translate Microsoft's English support page (https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4043948/windows-10-whats-new-in-recent-updates) into Japanese.

This project will use the following terminology and style rules. Before starting the translation, terminology and style rules have been set in MTrans for Trados. These terminology and style rules are examples, and the settings in MTrans for Trados can be adjusted according to the client's requirements. Various settings are possible, such as the presence or absence of long vowels in katakana, distinctions between full-width and half-width characters, and the use of symbols.

Terminology

・Translate the English "Windows" as "Windows" in Japanese (keep in English).

Style Rules

・Insert a space between full-width and half-width characters.

・Replace URLs with a Japanese URL.

(The screenshots below show the translation results pane of Trados. The translation labeled 'NMT' in the center column is from the MT Enhanced Trados Plugin, and the line labeled 'AT' is from MTrans for Trados.)

Example 1. Terminology

The MT Enhanced Trados Plugin changes the name to katakana, but the result from MTrans for Trados is correctly written in English.

Example 2. Spacing

The MT Enhanced Trados Plugin does not add a space between full-width and half-width characters, but MTrans for Trados correctly inserts spaces.

Example 3. URLs

The MT Enhanced Trados Plugin retains the original URL, while MTrans for Trados has replaced it with a Japanese URL. Translators only need to confirm the existence of this page by opening the URL in a web browser.

Example 4. Tags

When translating documents in formats such as HTML, XML, Word, and PDF, there may be tags within the sentences. The MT Enhanced Trados Plugin treats the text before and after the tags as entirely separate, resulting in incomplete sentences that must be completely retranslated. MTrans for Trados properly translates each segment as a single sentence, with tags inserted in the appropriate places.

Tech Support for MTrans for Trados

The MT Enhanced Trados Plugin only has an English forum for seeking tech support, but MTrans for Trados provides support from Human Science's own IT engineers in both Japanese and English via email, web meetings, and so on.

	MT Enhanced Trados Plugin	MTrans for Trados
Tags	Unsupported	Good
Terminology and Style	Unsupported	Good
MT Engines	Google, Microsoft	Google, DeepL, Microsoft
Contract conditions	Individual contracts required with Google and Microsoft	Access to all MT engines just by contracting with Human Science
Payment method	Credit card	Invoice payment
Billing structure	Pay-as-you-go	Fixed amount (with character limit)
Support	English forum only	Japanese and English